In Defence of Ron
by Billy Stubbs
Summary: An insight look into the friendship of Ron and Harry and because Ron deserves much more than being a character used for bashing or comic relief. One-shot.


**A/N: Hi everyone, here's a third one-shot that I wrote. To be honest, I wasn't planning to write this at all but I recently got into a HP argument with some people I know who said less than nice things about my favourite HP character. So with like adrenaline and rage pumping in my veins, I sat down and churned out this story. It always saddens me to see Ron getting bashed and honestly, Ron-centric stories are hard to come by. So here's my contribution to the cause.**

 **Disclaimer: JKR owns the HP universe.**

 **IN DEFENCE OF RON**

" _He must have known I'd want to leave you." "No, he must have known you would always want to come back."_

 _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Just a minute!" Ron said as he tucked in his shirt. Smoothing out his red hair, Ron checked his reflection as another knock was heard on the door.

"Come in!" Ron said impatiently as he reached for his comb. Pushing the door open, Harry stumbled into the room and placed a Locking and a Silencing Charm on the door. His raven hair a mess, Harry straightened out his dinner jacket before taking a seat on Ron's bed.

"Relax, Ron. We have more time. Apparently, your Aunt Muriel is insisting that Hermione wears some of her goblin-made jewellery as well as her elvish bracelet. Needless to say, they're still arguing now."

Ron chuckled at the thought of Hermione butting heads with Aunt Muriel. Knowing how defensive his fiancée was about the rights of magical creatures, it was safe to say that with the stubborn nature of Aunt Muriel, he had at least another hour before the wedding begins.

"Anyways, I'm still stumped coming up with my best man's speech," Harry said as he removed a bunch of note cards from his jacket.

"Having problems saying good stuff about Hermione and me?" Ron chuckled as he turned to his best friend.

"Actually, it's just you. Ginny and I worked this thing out where when we do our toasts, she will get to talk about Hermione and I will get to talk about you. Since I'm best man and she's maid of honour."

"Shouldn't my sister talk about me and you about Hermione?"

"Do you really want your sister to talk about you?

"Good point," Ron said, shuddering at the notion of his sister bringing out embarrassing facts on his past.

"Anyways, could you help me?" Harry said as he gave Ron a smirk. "What rhymes with bloody hell?"

"Fuck off, Harry," Ron replied as he flipped Harry off with his finger. Harry had a look of mock surprise on his face.

"Language, Ron. You're going to be married to Hermione Granger. How will she ever put up with you? On second thought, curse all you want, mate. Can't do that once you're married to her."

"Don't I know it?" Ron replied as he sighed before collapsing onto his bed. Harry turned to look at him, a puzzled look on his face.

"You okay, mate?" Harry asked. Ron didn't respond as he pointed to a newspaper that sat on top of his dresser. Recognizing it as the Daily Prophet, Harry cringed a little before staring at the front page.

 _THE GOLDEN WEDDING_

 _Today marks a very special day for the Wizarding World. Two members of the famous Golden Trio, as dubbed by the community, seek to exchange vows later today. Ronald Bilius Weasley and Hermione Jean Granger met years ago during their time at Hogwarts. Together with the famous Harry Potter, the trio was instrumental in bringing down the Dark Lord, He Who Must Not Be Named, and bringing peace back to the wizarding community….._

Harry read on until he noticed that certain lines had been underlined in red ink.

 _While this reporter joins countless others in wishing Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger all the best for their matrimonial life, a question must be asked. Why didn't Miss Granger pick Mr. Potter, clearly the best suited of the two, as her life partner? Mr. Weasley's contributions to the war cannot be understated but it is in this reporter's humble opinion that Mr. Weasley contributed significantly less to the war. Compounded by the fact that from certain sources, Ronald Weasley abandoned his friends during their pursuit to take down the Dark Lord and only returned when the war swung to their side…_

"Bloody hell!" Harry roared in anger as he stared at the words of the article. "Who wrote this crap?" Harry read until the end of the article to see a name of a person he wished he never met.

"RITA SKEETER! That bitch!" Harry yelled as he threw the paper down in disgust. "Don't tell me you believe that crap, Ron?!"

Ron only grunted in response as he stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom. Sighing to himself, Harry walked towards Ron and sat next to his friend.

"Ron, please, please tell me we're not back to believing every word of Rita Skeeter. I've learnt that the hard way." Harry said as his mind went back to the moment when he first read Skeeter's article on Dumbledore. A pang of regret filled him as he recalled how he thought the worst of his former headmaster.

Ron sighed as he sat up, cross-legged while facing Harry. Harry noticed that his friend looked deep in thought.

"Ron, what did Hermione say when she read this? I'm sure she's going to destroy Rita Skeeter for this" Harry said while shuddering at the thought of an angry Hermione on the warpath.

"She doesn't know, Harry. No one at the Burrow has seen the article yet, I think. I took all the papers away in the morning."

"Well, I'm going to show it to her once the wedding is over. I'm sure she would have a few choice words to say to that slimy git of a reporter!" Harry cried, still reeling from anger at the article.

"Harry, I'm sorry." Ron blurted out abruptly, causing Harry to look at him in confusion.

"Sorry? For what?" Harry asked.

Ron sighed as he stared into the green eyes of his best friend. "I'm sorry for leaving you and Hermione, mate. I shouldn't have left. I know the locket affected me badly but that was no excuse for me abandoning you guys. Rita may be right in this instance, mate. Hermione doesn't deserve me."

Harry stood up on his feet, his arm stretched out with his wand pointing towards Ron.

"Are you getting cold feet, Ron?" Harry said as Ron's eyes began to widen.

"No, of course not! I love Hermione, Harry. I would never run out on her."

"So why are you bringing up all this stuff? Just because of a stupid article?" Harry roared as Ron stood to his feet.

"BLOODY HELL! You don't get it, Harry." Ron said as he paced around in the room.

"Then help me, Ron. What don't I get?" Harry asked calmly as he pocketed his wand.

"That if I could leave Hermione and you when you guys needed me most, who's to say I won't do it again? I mean, I would never intentionally do it for no reason but my anger, Harry, my anger pushes me to make decisions that I regret. Horrible decisions." Ron said as he began to run his fingers through his flaming red hair. Harry stared at his friend for a few seconds, before composing himself and motioning for Ron to sit next to him. Sighing loudly, Ron reluctantly sat next to Harry on the bed.

"Okay, Ron, this is part of my duty as best man, alright? To me, everything was settled two years ago but since you insist on digging up the past, let's do this. Let's put all those insecurities to bed, shall we? We will have this talk and this is the last time we will ever bring it up again." Harry said as he placed a hand on Ron's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Harry blurted out as Ron, who was lost in his thoughts, shook them off and turned to face Harry with a confused expression on his face. "What?" Ron said. Harry took a deep breath before continuing.

"I'm sorry for telling you to leave, Ron. If you're going to blame yourself for you leaving, then I'm going to blame myself for you leaving as well. Because I told you to go and you did."

"Harry, that's ridiculous. You were angry because I kept badgering you that we weren't getting anywhere with the Horcruxes and I accused you of not caring as much for my family as I did. We had an argument but that doesn't excuse me from leaving. I should have stayed!"

"Why shouldn't I blame myself? You were right. My parents were gone and Hermione's was in Australia. The person who had the most to lose was you. Ginny was in Hogwarts under the Carrows, your entire family was in the Order and even Percy was under the Ministry's watch. And whose brilliant idea was it to wear the locket, a Horcrux that was manipulating and affecting us badly, around our necks? It was me! If I hadn't suggested that, maybe you wouldn't be as affected by the locket. If anyone forced you to leave, it was me."

"You didn't force anything, Harry! I knew what I was doing. I was angry and I left!"

"You stepped out for a second," Harry said dismissively as Ron stared at him with incredulity.

"I _stepped out for a second_?!" Ron said in disbelief.

"Ron, didn't you say that you wanted to come back the moment you left? That you couldn't because of Snatchers and the protective charms that Hermione cast made it impossible for you to find us."

"Yes, but…"

"There you go. You stepped out for a second. It just took you a long time to find us."

"I could have just run out instead of Disapparating, Harry! I walked out on you guys."

"You were angry. We all do stupid things when we're angry. It doesn't make it okay but it also doesn't mean that we hold on to it for this bloody long, Ron!" Harry yelled in frustration as Ron stared at him. "Yes, I said some things and so did you. You did leave and Merlin, I will regret that till the day I die, Ron. You did leave but you wanted to come back. And come back you did and when you did, you saved my life, got the sword from the lake and destroyed the Horcrux! I'm not going to make excuses for you. What you did hurt me, it did, Ron! But you made up for it so much more. You think you're the only person who made stupid decisions when they're emotional? How about me? I'll give you one that I still regret."

Harry sighed as he squinted his eyes before taking in a deep breath.

"If I hadn't said Voldemort's name, Hermione would have not been tortured," Harry said with a painful tone to his voice. "You warned us not to say his name but I did and because of that we were caught. Hermione was tortured and Dobby came to save us"

"Mate, it was Bellatrix who did that. She tortured Hermione and she killed Dobby! You can't blame yourself for what happened. It was out of your hands. You didn't make a choice like I did. Don't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault!"

"Mate, you said it yourself. The Horcrux manipulated you. Voldemort feed on our frustrations and you, the one with most to lose, left. I'm not saying we shouldn't take responsibility for what we did, Ron. But we should forgive ourselves especially when both of us made up for it by saving the wizarding world. And here's another thing…" Harry said as he looked at Ron with a strange smile plastered on his face.

"You leaving actually saved us, Ron. No, think about this!" Harry said as Ron opened his mouth to protest. "If you hadn't left and tried to find your way to find us, I would have swum to the bottom of the lake to get the sword and probably drowned because of my stupidity to not take it out. If you hadn't come back and that image of you holding the sword and the locket didn't happen, I might have not known how to destroy the locket. Think about it! How come it was only when you saved me did I finally realised to open the locket by Parseltongue?"

"That's just ridiculous, Harry. You said it yourself you probably known it all along; it's just that you needed a means to destroy the Horcrux. And let's not forget that Snape, the git, was there, probably hiding somewhere to see if you could retrieve the sword."

"We don't know that, do we? For all we know, Snape could have just placed the sword and left. He couldn't give up his identity! Speaking of which, why didn't the bloody git just put the sword in like a block of ice? Or just tie it to a tree? Aren't there easier ways to pass me the sword, Snape?" Harry said as he raised his fist mockingly, prompting Ron to burst into laughter.

"You probably had to do something brave to earn it, Harry. You told me about that. The power of certain actions."

"Which proves my point. The locket wasn't meant to be destroyed by me. I didn't earn the power of the sword. You did. You coming back was your moment to be a hero, Ron. Which could only have come if you left in the first place." Harry said with a triumphant look on his face.

"If we're going to go there, Harry, then you might as well say that if you hadn't said Voldemort's name, we wouldn't have been at the Manor. We wouldn't have saved Dean, Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook and we wouldn't have known the location of the cup!" Ron replied as he started to look more relaxed.

"And that led to Voldemort coming down to find his Horcrux missing which led him to think of the other Horcrux in Hogwarts, a location I could only get if I saw into his mind. Yup, let's face it, Ron. It was our mistakes that saved the day." Harry added as they both stared at each other before laughing. After a while, both boys laid down on the bed not saying a word until Harry broke the silence.

"You know mate, Hermione's a lucky gal. I don't know about her, though, but I know for a fact that I couldn't have done it all without you."

"Harry, I love you mate, but sorry, I don't swing that day."

"Prat!" Harry said as he hit his best friend on his shoulder.

"Git," Ron replied as he returned the favour.

"I'm serious," Harry said out loud as Ron stopped himself from laughing, a look of concern washing over him as he stared at Harry's sudden serious expression.

"Ron, you know I love Hermione to bits. She's my best friend and she's like a sister to me. And if I ever need advice, I'm going to her first. But she's not you. If I have to say it, I give credit to Tom. He really chose the right guy to pick on."

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Ron said, with a clueless look on his face.

"Ron, imagine for a second that it was either me or Hermione who had left that day. If it was me, you and Hermione would probably try to find me. If it was Hermione, you would have probably forced me to find her or you would have gone to her to bring her back. But even if she decided to leave and we could do nothing to convince her to come back, could you and I have done it? Destroy the Horcruxes?"

"We wouldn't have lasted a day without her, Harry," Ron replied firmly.

"True, I don't deny it. But I know that I would have wanted to carry on. I'm not saying I don't care about Hermione but what I'm saying is that I rather have taken my chances with you if someone had given me the choice. Of course, we would probably be dead but I would have wanted to fight on. But when you left, it was bad, Ron. Hermione was a mess, crying at nights and I was obsessed with the locket and looking at the map for Ginny. We made little progress, nearly got ourselves killed at Godric's Hollow and we were lost. I was lost. Back in our fourth year when you and I weren't speaking as well as that time when you left, it was horrible, Ron. No matter who I had by my side, be it Hermione or Ginny or Luna or whoever else, I didn't have it in me to go as far as I did. Not until you came back."

"Speaking of fourth year…" Ron said, earning a groan from Harry.

"Please don't tell me we're going to go through that again. Ron, you and I fight. That's what friends do! You talk as if you're the only one out of the three of us to do such a thing. If I recall correctly, in our third year, we were at loggerheads with Hermione because she told McGonagall about my Firebolt. She could have talked to us about it, but she didn't. And when I wanted to sneak away to Hogsmeade, after Sirius paid you a visit, she even questioned you as to why you let me go with you. And what about me? How many times have I pushed the two of you away?" Harry snapped as Ron shook his head.

"That's because you were affected by the scar, by Voldemort and all this. And as for Hermione, she was young! She was thirteen and didn't know better. Besides, she did have the best intentions at heart." Ron replied

"You were young too during our fourth year! I remembered what you said when you saw the Mirror, Ron. You always had to live in the shadow of your brothers and then me. You were insecure and so yeah, you were pissed at me for thinking I put my name in the Goblet. But admit it, the reason you were so bothered about it wasn't because you thought I was outshining you. It was because you felt angry that if I did put my name inside, I didn't include you. You wanted to be there with me and you felt that I deliberately left you out. Like I would leave you out of my adventures, Ron."

Both the boys stared at each other.

"Harry, I doubt that the Horcrux picked me out of the three of you. I just got affected worst of all, that's all." Ron said after a while, his voice no longer as depressed as it was.

"Take it from a former Horcrux, Ron. It knew what it was doing. So do us all a favour. You've been selling yourself short all these years which is ironic for a tall person. You want to seek forgiveness? Seek it from the person who's your worst critic, Ron. Yourself. Hermione and I forgave you years ago and for me, personally, there's no need for it. But forgive yourself, mate. You came back and you more than made up for it. That's why Dumbledore gave you the Deluminator. Because he knew you would always come back and that neither Hermione nor I could have done it without you. You helped me to fight on and in doing so, you saved the wizarding world."

"You're making me sound cooler than I really am."

"Stuff like that always make it sound cooler than it really is. I've said this to you before."

"That you have, mate," Ron said as he got up from the bed to walk to the mirror. "Okay, Harry, I'll forgive myself. Guess Hermione's really in for it, huh. Marrying me."

"Yeah, she is," Harry said as he beamed at his best friend. "She's marrying a guy she loves and who loves her and who I know will never leave her side, not even If he's angry. And even if circumstances get in the way, I know for a fact, that he will fight like hell to get back to her."

"Thanks, mate, I really needed to hear that," Ron said as he and Harry embraced in a hug. "Kind of foolish of me, huh, believing Rita Skeeter like that," Ron said as he pulled away.

"Don't worry mate, you're not the only one with foolish thoughts today. I have one." Harry said as he picked up his note cards.

"Tell me."

"Nah, it's fine, Ron. Besides, you have to go get ready."

"I still got time for you. What's up?"

"It's really okay."

"Harry James Potter," Ron exclaimed as he crossed his arms in a Hermione-like fashion, causing Harry to laugh. "Tell me what your foolish thought is."

"Fine!" Harry exclaimed as he looked away from Ron's blue-eyed stare. "I was scared of losing you."

"What?" Ron said as he raised an eyebrow. Harry let out a sigh

"Relax, it's not like that. It's just that you've always been by my side throughout all my adventures, Ron. You're my best friend and so is Hermione and like while I love that you guys are a couple, I was a little scared that once you guys get married, I would be out of the loop. Like we talked about, I was lost without you and now I'm glad that you're going on this part of your life without me because you're marrying Hermione but I was scared of being left out. More than that, I was scared that you might want to go on a different path without me. I heard from Ginny that you're thinking of ending your Auror career to work at the joke shop?"

"Yeah, mate but that's not for some time. I'm still going to go on cases with you and do the Auror thing with you. Besides, you're being ridiculous. I'm always going to be by your side."

"I know that, Ron and that's why I said it was a foolish thing. You want to know one thing that scares me? It's that one day you won't be around on my …let's call it adventures. I will be out catching Dark wizards and I won't have you watching my back." Harry said as he gave Ron a bittersweet smile.

Ron sighed before placing an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Harry, first of all, I'm always going to be there with you, mate. Maybe I won't be an Auror but if you need me to go on a case with you, I'm there. Or an adventure. And it won't just be me. Hermione will be there as well. Secondly, even if we don't do Auror stuff together, I always got your back. No matter what. Me marrying Hermione won't change any of that, Harry. If anything, the two of us are always going to be close to you and Ginny. Heck, we might even live together. The four of us."

"Like some cottage out in the woods?" Harry said as he smiled at the thought.

"Yeah. Come on, after all, we've been through, do you really think that even after the two of us have settled down, we wouldn't spend every single day with each other? Takes more than a locket to keep us apart, mate." Ron replied as he took out his wand to charm his bowtie into tying itself.

"Thanks, mate. For talking to me. Really needed to hear all that."

"Not a problem, Ron. It's your wedding day. Everyone gets nervous and insecure on your wedding day. When mine finally comes around, you'll probably be doing the same for me."

Ron smiled as he pointed his wand on his bedroom door, removing the charms Harry had placed. "Hey mate, I'm going to take a walk outside so I hope you don't mind me…stepping out for a second. I'm fine. Just need some fresh air." Ron said as he walked towards the door.

"As long as you come back to us, take your time," Harry replied with a grin.

….

"BRAVO!"

Ron clapped hard as he noticed the rousing roar of applause for Ginny's speech. A teary-eyed Hermione hugged her best female friend while Ron gave his sister a warm smile after hugging her as well. Looking past his parents, Ron could see Harry shifting uncomfortably in his seat next to his dad before removing the note cards from his jacket. Giving a thumbs-up as well as a nod to reassure Harry, he could see the latter gratefully nod back before clinking his glass with his fork. Everyone started to quieten down, their attention focused on the young man with the scar on his forehead. Ron could see Harry tugging at his collar excessively before clearing his throat.

"Hi…er…everyone. Sorry, but I'm not so good with speeches. Normally, I would get Hermione to help me with this but seeing that she's marrying the bloke I have to make a speech about, it wouldn't make sense."

"Neither could ten galleons," Hermione said out loud with a smirk.

"You tried to bribe her?" Ron said with a look of amusement on his face.

"Anyways, let's not digress," Harry said as everyone started to laugh. "I got to get serious for this one since Ron's going to do this for me at my wedding one day." Ginny raised an eyebrow as Harry looked down at the note cards. Ron saw a smile creeping on his best friend's face as he suddenly discarded the cards onto the table.

"The first thing you need to know about Ron Weasley is that he is my best friend and yes, he's a wanker. Sometimes, he whines too much and sometimes, he gets angry too easily. That Weasley temper a trait I think no one else does better than Ron. He can be insensitive at times though granted most of those times he has no clue as that he's being insensitive. He has, as his lovely bride said on more than one occasion, the emotional range of a teaspoon. Ron can get on your nerves very easily though not as easily as you get on his and by Merlin pants, can he be stubborn. So I guess that's it. That's all for my speech."

Ron could feel his own mouth drop as he processed every word Harry had said. Ginny had started laughing in the beginning though now she looked slightly shocked. Hermione looked confused as if deciding between being angry for Ron or being concerned for Harry. Before Ron could say anything, he noticed Harry staring at him before giving him a big wink.

"That's all for my speech, of course, if you're one of those people who read the Daily Prophet and believe every word of a disgraced reporter. I'm sure by now some of you have seen the article and I'm not going to waste time on this beautiful day to try to change your minds as to how you see Ronald Weasley. Why? Because, frankly, you're not worth my time or anyone's time and more importantly, I rather take my time talking about the real Ronald Weasley.

I met Ron on the Hogwarts Express back when I was eleven and that was the day my life changed. Everyone already knows how we defeated Voldemort but most people here don't know or realise how much we sacrificed to get there. So here it is. Ron was the guy during my first year who contributed to me not going into Slytherin. During our first year, Ron helped prevent the first return of Voldemort by sacrificing his life in a chess game. In our second year, Ron went to face his fears by facing down an Acromantula to save Hermione. In our third year, Ron stood on a broken leg to face down a suspected murderer, willing to sacrifice his life if it means saving his friends. In our fourth year, Ron taught me how important he was to me and gave me the strength to survive the Triwizard tournament. In our fifth year, Ron took part in a deadly mission to help me save my uncle. In our sixth year, Ron took part in the battle against the Death Eaters in the Astronomy Tower. These are just some… let me repeat that… some of the things Ron has done to save not only my life but countless others as well. But we all already know that Ron is a hero don't we?"

Ron could see that everyone was hanging on every word as Harry continued to speak.

"Ron was born to a family of five brothers and one sister. Being the youngest always meant that Ron felt insecure and sometimes, even unwanted. All Ron wanted to do was stand out and be recognized. So he went to Hogwarts only to find that his two best friends were the Chosen One and the smartest witch of her age. Not quite what he needed."

Harry turned to Ron as he looked him in the eye.

"But Ron never cared about himself as much as he did his friends. He gave me a home when I was all alone. He opened his family to me even though it meant that he would have to share the love of his parents. He gave me a place to stay and always looked out for me, especially when I had to return to the Dursleys. During our sixth year, Ron even gave me permission to date his sister, someone he was extremely protective for-"

"Damn straight!" Ron said, earning a few laughs.

"Thanks, big brother," Ginny said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"What about the rest of us? What are we? Next door neighbours?!" George said out loud, prompting even more laughs.

"For someone who wasn't well-to-do, Ron was a giver. Always sharing and giving things to Hermione and I. And like I mention, Ron was extremely protective of us. Whenever someone would tell him to stay away from me or tell me not to return to Hogwarts or separate us, Ron always told them off. Even when we fought, Ron still looked out for me. But I was nothing compared to Hermione of course. It's a well-known fact that this two bicker and sometimes they say things to each other that they would regret later but I know and see for a fact that if anyone ever tried to mess with Hermione or abuse her in any way, they better start praying because Ron would be on them in an instant. Out of the amazing things Ron has done, the best of them has to getting Hermione to marry him. Trust me, I've seen the way Ron was when he first realised he had feelings for Hermione, how he had to overcome his insecurities to fight for, his first kiss with her and every action he took to get her to be his wife. Which leads me to the best trait of Ron."

Ron could see a small tear cascade down Harry's cheek.

"Ron would never give up on you. You don't measure loyalty when there's no adversity like how you don't measure courage if there's no fear to overcome. But Ron had a lot to overcome. His insecurities while growing up, having to stay in the shadows and having to take care of the two of us, it can be pretty overwhelming especially for a teenage boy. But Ron always fought back. Ron always came back. Ron always stepped up. Hermione, you know I love you and you're my best friend too but I have to say that you're the luckiest girl in the world because you're married to the guy who will never give up on you. Who will always love you and who will always be there for you. The reason I know this is because he's there for me too."

Harry's voice started to croak a little as Ron felt his face getting damp.

"A world without Ronald Weasley in it, a dark and sad world, is not a world I want to live in. Of all the days in my life that I am grateful for, arguably the best day was the day I met Ron. Would I have gone to Slytherin if not for Ron? Would we have been friends with Hermione? Would I have survived my first year? Would I have met Ginny? These are questions I can never answer and thankfully for Ron, I would never have to. So to you mate, Ron and to you Hermione, I raise my glass. Because I can think of no two people who deserve each other better and who deserve every good thing that comes their way for all the pain and obstacles they had to go through. So Ron, don't think I have to say it but whatever, please take care of this woman like you have done and continue to do and to the rest of you join me in this toast of my best female friend and the best sister a bloke could ask for…"

Ron felt Hermione squeeze his hand tightly.

"…and to Ronald Weasley, without whom I could not save the wizarding world. Ron, thank you for everything and I love you mate. To Ron, a hero, a husband and like how I started this speech…

Harry gave Ron the largest smile he could muster.

…my best friend."

…

Ron watched as Harry finished his speech toasting both him and Hermione as the crowd stood up and started to cheer and clapped. He watched as he ran towards Harry pulling him into a large hug while the two boys started crying tears of joy. He watched as his best friend hugged his wife while beaming at him with his raven hair, familiar scar, piercing green eyes and a wide smile. Ron studied all this features of Harry before smoke started to cover the room and everything turned dark.

Pulling his head out of the Pensieve, Ron wobbled on his cane towards his bed. Taking his wand from under his pillow, Ron watched as the sun was starting to set outside their cottage. Reaching into his pants to touch the cold metal of the object he wanted to bring, Ron took a deep breath before turning on the spot.

CRACK!

Ron smiled as he saw the church in the distance. Quaint little cottages filled most of the quiet West Country village as Ron walked slowly on the cobbled steps of Godric's Hollow. He had thought of apparating closer but the last time had nearly caused him to step into a pothole. Moving as far as he could, Ron took a moment to catch his breath before he pushed open the steel gate.

Hobbling to where his friend laid, Ron was happy to see the many flowers and wreaths that had been placed all around. Even though Harry had been gone for almost a year, people still haven't forgotten what he did. He even saw miniature Firebolts placed on his tombstone together with golden orbs resembling Snitches. Conjuring up an armchair, Ron sat as he stared at the tomb of his best friend.

 _Harry Potter_

 _31 July 1980 – 2 August 2060_

 _The Chosen One_

 _Hero_

 _Best Friend_

 _Husband_

 _Father_

Ron laughed sadly to himself as he recalled how he wanted to add the word son as well but they ran out of room. _You would have thought it was too much, either way, mate_ Ron thought to himself as he sighed. The village was turning dark as the sun disappeared little by little over the horizon.

"I'm coming, mate," Ron whispered as he placed his Deluminator on the top of the tombstone before packing up his things.

 _CRACK!_

"Ron?" cried a familiar voice.

"I'm here, Hermione."

Ron could see his bushy-haired wife now with large streaks of white and grey in her hair walking towards him. She gave a bittersweet smile before hugging him tightly. Ron could feel the soft wet tears of his wife on his shoulder and he moved to kiss her on her forehead. Composing herself, Hermione and Ron turned towards the grave of their best friend as Hermione placed her head on Ron's shoulder.

"I left a note," Ron said as he moved his head to stare into his wife's hazel eyes.

"I know. But I saw the Pensieve open and I just…I just was worried about you." Hermione replied.

Ron nodded as they both continued to stare at Harry's grave. Hermione started to busy herself by moving the flowers and wreaths about, clearing the grave of any unwanted twigs.

"You want to know something he once told me?" Ron said after a while.

"What?" Hermione asked as she stood up next to him.

"He once told me that Dumbledore told him that death is but the next great adventure. Can't imagine him not being on an adventure without us."

"Yes, but he has his parents, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks. Your parents and mine. Fred. Dobby. Dumbledore. He has so many people, Ron. I'm sure he's fine."

"You're probably right," Ron said as he gave his wife a sad smile. Looking up to the sky that was now littered with twinkling stars, Ron smiled as he whispered.

"Don't worry, mate. I'm coming."

Ron and Hermione started to walk out of the graveyard. As Ron looked out at the quiet, sleeping village with its bright lights, he could feel the cold winds blowing past him. He heard a bell jingle and out of a restaurant, three kids who looked no older than twelve ran out, screaming and laughing to themselves as they played with each other. Smiling to himself as he took the time to reminisce on the past, Ron suddenly felt a tug on his arm as he turned to face his wife who had a look of concern on her face.

"Ron, I know he meant a lot to you. He does to me too but what you just said…" Hermione had begun to speak but before she could finish, a soft pair of lips touched hers as Ron pulled her into a long kiss.

"Don't worry, luv." Ron said as he pulled away before turning back to the direction of the graveyard, a smile breaking out on his lips.

"He told me to take my time."

…..

 **A/N: It always bothered me how some people feel Ron should be held** **fully** **accountable for leaving Harry and Hermione during the hunt. While I admit Ron should take some responsibility, it wasn't like he did it purely out of spite with no reason. It's ironic that some fanfiction has Ginny angry at Ron for being affected by a Horcrux even though she was affected by one and nearly killed people for it too. Ron left because the Horcrux wore him down but he wanted to come back only he couldn't do it immediately. But come back he did which is more than we can say for most people. Ron wasn't perfect but to me, that's okay because none of us are and the fact that he stood by Harry and Hermione and overcame all his insecurities and issues to save the world makes him my favourite HP character.**


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